Not Healthy: Easy Tuna Melt with Flavor

I'm not usually much of a tuna melt fan. I'm not huge on the idea of cheese and fish together to begin with and I've only had a small number that I've enjoyed. Often I find tuna melts go in one of two directions. Bland fish plus an excess of oily cheese results in a soggy sandwich or the effort to overcome the oiliness means the bread ends up rock hard. Just not a pleasant experience. My wife likes tuna melts and we often have canned tuna in the house so I set out looking for a recipe that both of us might enjoy. I landed upon this recipe that is not only easy but tasty. It relies upon canned tuna but you could opt for pouch tuna or even cooking fresh tuna for an even more flavorful sandwich. The recipe calls for provolone cheese but you could opt for a less assertive cheese like Monterey Jack or cheddar if you prefer that option in your tuna melt. You can use one full slice of cheese on each side or split in half as I have in this recipe.

This is a reasonably healthy recipe particularly if you discount the amount of cheese and mayo, but there's still quite a bit of fat in the recipe so I've categorized it in the unhealthy category.

Not Healthy: Easy Tuna Melt

Servings: 1
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes

Equipment:

• Knife and cutting board
• Cooking sheet
• Oven
• Mixing bowls
• Kitchen utensils

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato
• 2 pieces of bread
• 1 5 oz. canned tuna
• 2 tbsp mayo
• 1 tsp chopped red onion
• 1 tsp capers
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• pinch of dried oregano
• 1 slice provolone

Directions:

1. Heat broiler to high and move rack to highest level.
2. In mixing bowl mix tuna, lemon juice, capers, onion, 1 tbsp mayo, oregano, salt and pepper (to taste) until completely mixed.
3. Slice four thin tomato slices.
4. Spread remaining tbsp of mayo on one side of both bread slices. Lay bread slices on cooking sheet, mayo up. Spread tuna mix evenly on both pieces. Lay two tomato slices on each side of the sandwich. Cut slice of cheese in half, placing one half on each side of the sandwich in the middle.
5. Place in oven and broil for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is browned.
6. Remove and put together as sandwich.

Healthy: Greek Style Green Beans in Tomato Sauce

Finding healthy vegetable recipes that give you more than steamed vegetables can be tricky. Most recipes that aren't another round of bland steamed vegetables come along with too much oil (such as the original version of this recipe) or adding unnecessarily amounts of salt. This recipe blends a typical Greek technique and flavors together into a simple and easy recipe that packs a nice punch of flavor. It's decidedly Greek by flavor but it's flexible enough that you can serve it with almost anything. You can spruce up the green beans with some feta cheese and/or kalamata olives. Traditional recipes call for more olive oil but I like this recipe a little leaner as its presented.

Simple recipes really need no more of an introduction so let's get to it.

Healthy Greek Green Beans in Tomato Sauce

Serves: 8
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour

Equipment: 

• Knife and cutting board
• Large skillet with lid
• Stovetop
• Measuring cups
• Kitchen utensils
• Grater

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lb. fresh green beans
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 1/2 red onions
• 1 1/2 lb. fresh tomatoes 
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp fresh oregano
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Prepare vegetables by mincing garlic, chopping onions, trimming the ends off the green beans and grating the tomatoes (leaving out the core). Chop parsley and oregano.
2. Heat olive oil over medium high heat.
3. Saute onions until soft (approximately 6-8 minutes).
4. Add garlic and tomatoes and bring to a boil.
5. Add green beans and mix thoroughly.
6. Turn down heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 40 minutes. If green beans start to dry out add a small amount of water.
7. Add parsley and oregano and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Healthy: Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Often when you think about cooking Thai food the first thing that comes to mind is laborious work chopping vegetables and herbs and building the ingredients that come together in a curry or other complicated dish. However, that's not an accurate portrayal of Thai food. Thai food also includes a large amount of street food that includes grilled meats. This side of Thai cuisine is not built on putting in time slicing vegetables into razor thin strips or chopping up meat into bite sized pieces. Instead, Thai grilling is very similar to any other type of grilling. This can make Thai flavors approachable for those who feel overwhelmed by Thai ingredients or cooking techniques.

This recipe turns regular old chicken breasts into a bouquet of Thai flavors without a long cook or delayed prep time. In fact, this recipe even requires minimal marinade time although you can certainly extend this time period to get more of the flavor into the meat. This grilled chicken recipe can work on a grill or under a broiler so it's easily prepared inside or outside. The recipe below provides broiling instructions but you can grill using the exact same steps just prepare your grill as you normally would to grill chicken breasts.

Thai Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

Servings: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

Equipment:

• Broiler or grill
• Shallow dish
• Knife and cutting board
• Mixing bowl
• Kitchen utensils
• Food processor (or blender) 
• Stove
• Small saucepan

 Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breasts
• 2 jalapenos
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tbsp water

Directions:

1. Heat grill or broiler. 
2. In food processor puree jalapenos (remove stem), 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 cup cilantro, fish sauce, olive oil, sesame oil and 1/4 tsp salt. 
3. Put chicken in shallow dish and coat with puree.
4. Broil chicken for five minutes. Turn and cook on other side for five minutes or until done.
5. While broiling, chop remaining 1 tbsp of cilantro. 
6. Combine vinegar, sugar, remaining salt in small saucepan and bring to simmer. Simmer for two minutes.
7. Pour liquid in mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add pepper flakes, water and cilantro. Whisk together.
8. Serve chicken breast with small bowl of sauce.